Page 303 - Panjek, Aleksander, Jesper Larsson and Luca Mocarelli, eds. 2017. Integrated Peasant Economy in a Comparative Perspective: Alps, Scandinavia and Beyond. Koper: University of Primorska Press
P. 303
disaster management and integr ated economy in early modern japan
5. Flooding as an endurable disaster
Floods repeatedly damaged the infrastructure of the village, especially the
infrastructure used for agricultural production. The diaries recorded the
damage caused by the floods precisely. From the descriptions in the diaries,
we can determine the learning process of the village administration. The
most crucial point is the visualisation of the damage by means of measure-
ments and mapping, which was performed for the first time after the year
1803 (Kyowa 3), when one of the most serious floods occurred.
Table 12.3: Damage due to floods in 1801 (Kansei 13), 1803 (Kyowa 3), and 1817 (Bunka 14)
According to the flood records in the diaries, flooding on a relatively
large scale occurred three times in the time period studied. In 1801, floods
damaged eight riverbanks along 234 metres and some of Shirasu banks
along 360 metres. Shirasu was the name of the coast of Takahama, where
banks were built for a port and a shipping line on the Takahama River,
from which boats could travel both downstream and upstream. The floods
of 1803 damaged Takahama much more seriously, as they damaged not
only the river and tide banks and the Shirasu banks, but also rice fields and
other vegetable fields. Also, two houses and one hut collapsed, and the walls
of eight houses were swept away. However, there were no casualties due to
the floods.
According to the diaries, several heavy rainfalls occurred over a peri-
od of more than ten days, which caused the floods in 1803. After heavy rain
on 29th April, it was reported in the diary that on 1st May the river was swell-
ing and seemed to exceed the banks, and several parts of the banks were
301
5. Flooding as an endurable disaster
Floods repeatedly damaged the infrastructure of the village, especially the
infrastructure used for agricultural production. The diaries recorded the
damage caused by the floods precisely. From the descriptions in the diaries,
we can determine the learning process of the village administration. The
most crucial point is the visualisation of the damage by means of measure-
ments and mapping, which was performed for the first time after the year
1803 (Kyowa 3), when one of the most serious floods occurred.
Table 12.3: Damage due to floods in 1801 (Kansei 13), 1803 (Kyowa 3), and 1817 (Bunka 14)
According to the flood records in the diaries, flooding on a relatively
large scale occurred three times in the time period studied. In 1801, floods
damaged eight riverbanks along 234 metres and some of Shirasu banks
along 360 metres. Shirasu was the name of the coast of Takahama, where
banks were built for a port and a shipping line on the Takahama River,
from which boats could travel both downstream and upstream. The floods
of 1803 damaged Takahama much more seriously, as they damaged not
only the river and tide banks and the Shirasu banks, but also rice fields and
other vegetable fields. Also, two houses and one hut collapsed, and the walls
of eight houses were swept away. However, there were no casualties due to
the floods.
According to the diaries, several heavy rainfalls occurred over a peri-
od of more than ten days, which caused the floods in 1803. After heavy rain
on 29th April, it was reported in the diary that on 1st May the river was swell-
ing and seemed to exceed the banks, and several parts of the banks were
301
